There's only a few reasons artists, bands and labels will pay an audio engineer:

• There's already an in-person relationship between the artists/label and engineer so it makes sense to work together
• The engineer's name carries enough cachet as to increase sales and exposure to cover the cost
• They've heard the work of an engineer and think they're a good match for the sound they're looking for

People who know me will contact me directly and my name doesn't carry weight outside of a few very small circles / genres, to address the first two.

That said, if you have a project that's close to finished and needs some final mixing tweaks and mastering plus you trust my skills and experience, drop me a line after reviewing the cost minumums in this FAQ.

I wouldn't bother unless you think you'd like to hire me. If so, it's a good idea to go through the whole thing.

I charge by the project and don't have fixed rates but generally: a mastering job on a finished mix starts at $100 up to $150; a proper mix with mastering starts at $200 but is generally $300-500 depending on the amount of work. Cost estimates are free, based on the scope of the work once you tell me where the project's at, what you want done and I hear some samples.

I'd be wary of anyone charging a fixed price without an estimate since there's no incentive for them to put in extra time/work if necessary.

All work requires a 50% deposit and signed contract with the remaining payment due before delivery.

When you contact me, it's best to provide a link to at least one of the track(s) including all stems for mixing, so I can work on it to provide an estimate. Digital audio should be at least 44.1kHz/16 bit although 48k/24 bit is preferred.

For a mastering job, I provide a mix of the tracks for whatever physical format(s) including a cuesheet for CDs if needed. Streaming masters can be provided at additional cost.

For mixing and mastering jobs, I provide mastered tracks for Bandcamp and other digital download services, a mastered mix for physical media (including cuesheet for CD) and a set of masters for streaming services like Spotify, etc.

Masters for multiple media formats and/or specific streaming services available at extra cost.

Streaming masters are done to Audio Engineering Society specs (AESTD1008.1.21-9) - see "Recommendations for Loudness of Internet Audio Streaming and On-Demand Distribution" for specifics.

Physical media masters are done to best practice standards for the physical media involved, with loudness levels (lufs) between -9 and -12dBfs, with appropriate headroom below 0dBfs.

No. I provide (mainly) digital post-recording services like engineering, mixing and mastering, but I'm available for studio or live sound work, if interested.

Not in any traditional sense and I don't care for the title. My goal as an engineer is to make a recording sound as best and as close to what you're aiming for. I'll certainly make suggestions and can offer opinions if asked, but the only thing that matters is that you're happy with the results.

All the editing, processing, mixing and mastering is done with software on digital audio files. Since today's world is digital downloads and streaming, it's a better approach. Even in the case of physical media such as vinyl or cassettes, digital files are delivered to the manufacturer. And yes, it can sound as good or better than anything you can do with analog gear these days. I owned plenty of hardware over a 20 year period and there's not a single piece I wish I still had.

In the last ten years, everything has gone digital — CDs always were; streaming and Bandcamp digital copies are; every vinyl pressing plant takes digital master copies only; the worst digital audio is still way better than the fidelity you need for cassettes. Digital masters also make it less expensive to have different versions.

Vinyl might be the only arguable case but lathe mastering has gotten sophisticated enough in the last 10-15 years so there's no longer a need to do a "vinyl master." Lathe engineers are just fine with CD quality audio - 44.1kHz/16 bit with a true peak ceiling below -0.3dB and a lufs (perceived listening volume) anywhere between -12 to -10dB average. The lathe cutter will apply RIAA curves (this has always been the case) and should be able to do dynamic cuts with look-ahead controllers (like the Pitch18, etc.)

At this point in time, there's multiple software plugins that replicate analog gear. With a few, very rare exceptions, it's close to impossible to distinguish a difference between those and hardware.

I have extremely broad tastes in music. You name it, I've probably done it. The list includes American Primitive, folk / bluegrass, experimental, psyche rock, drone, synth pop, ambient, grindcore / horrorcore, electronic / non-music, psytrance, downtempo / psybient and DJ mixes. See my discography here.

Indeed I do! Here's a couple of examples with explanations by the musicians themselves.

If you're in Portland, Oregon I recommend you check out Rob Wrong's studio, Wrong Way Recording ("for the Working Class Musician").